Allman Town project looking up Elon Beckford, chairman of United Way and Dr. Carol Archer director of the Urban and Regional Planning Division at the University of Technology (UTech), in discussions at the Voluntary Social Organisation's Breakfast Forum at the Gleaner Company yesterday.
PLANS TO re-develop the Greater Allman Town Area, a former residential community now beset by poverty, are looking brighter. Community facilitators responsible for developing action plans to revitalise the area, which include Allman Town, Campbell Town, Kingston Gardens and Woodford Park, gave reports on the progress being made at the Voluntary Social Organisation's Breakfast Forum at the Gleaner Company yesterday. They highlighted the work they have been able to accomplish since the last forum on August 28, as they gave an update to the meeting, which was attended by Dr. Carol Archer, one of the moving forces behind the Allman Town re-development project and director of the Urban and Regional Planning Division at the University of Technology (UTech) and Mr. Elon Beckford, chairman of United Way. "Right now we are gathering information for a development plan for the Greater Allman Town community and we are about 90 per cent complete," said Craig Foreman, whose duties involve having meetings with the various action groups in the Greater Allman Town Area. Mr. Foreman said while the aim was to develop relevant action plans to address the developmental needs such as job creation and education specific to the communities of the area, recent bouts of violence have prevented all but the Kingston Gardens community, which so far has seven members in its action group. Dr. Archer reported that eight persons from the Greater Allman Town area, since the start of the re-development plan, have been employed to serve as community facilitators. Six computer scholarships were also offered to members of the communities who have little or no experience with computers. Executive Director of Development Options Limited, Maureen Webber, gave a presentation on the lending opportunities available to small and community-based businesses. She said her company sought funding for several agencies which offered microcredit programmes which approve loans for up to $100,000 for persons such as dressmakers, tailors and shopkeepers. Owners of community-based enterprises can get as much as $500,000 in loans from the agencies. She warned, however, that loan applicants must make sure that these loans are repaid because if they don't the whole community would suffer. The Gleaner Company is co-ordinating the re-development initiative in Allman Town along with the University of Technology's Urban and Regional Planning Division, the Voluntary Social Organisation, (VSO) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), which has agreed to provide financing.
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